Wrong lifting of heavy loads causes hernia, says expert

Carrying heavy loads wrongly has been identified as the major cause of hernia, a condition referred to as protrusion or swelling of the groin.

According to a General Practitioner (GP) and a rural surgeon, Dr Lasisi Durojaiye, the medical burden of the rural people is hernia because they carry heavy weights always.

He spoke at a two-day free surgery organised by the Association of Rural Surgical Practitioners of Nigeria (ARSPON) with the support of Shell Nigeria Plc at Meciland Medical Centre, Ijegun, an outskirt of Lagos.

Durojaiye said there was always a weak point in the groin of everybody, adding that lifting heavy objects usually triggers the condition. “Under certain conditions, it grows and you can see the protrusion of the intestine coming out through the weak point,” he said.

He said the condition if not corrected can kill the patient, especially if the intestines get stuck; adding that it can be strangulated because loss of life is cut off to that particular organ and as such predisposes the patient to a serious emergency.

On the appropriate method of carrying heavy load, he said: “When carrying heavy load, people should bend their knees so that the pressure can spread the body but those who have hernia usually go straight forward and carry the weight which puts the pressure on the groin of the abdominal contents. This weakens the groin.

Durojaiye, who is the Medical Director (MD) of the hospital, said 40 hernia, 10 fibroid, eight goiters and two benign prostatic enlargement surgeries were performed at the programme designed to bring succor to the rural dwellers.

The goal, he said, was to reach the unreached and make surgery affordable and accessible to the poor masses

Durojaiye said the free surgery is a precursor to the association’s Fifth Scientific Conference in Lagos, with the theme Documentation: the Soul and the heart of rural surgery and research.